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Respiratory Area

The respiratory system is responsible for the exchange of gas between the exterior and the interior of our bodies; its proper functioning is essential for life, as it enables the oxygenation of our tissues and the elimination of carbon dioxide, together with other waste products of our metabolism.

For this reason, diseases affecting the respiratory system can be very serious and greatly affect patients’ quality of life.

Sometimes the pathologies of this system can have an etiology that is more environmental than related to the intrinsic characteristics of our body, such as smoke and bacterial infections, or they can have a genetic component, as in the case of asthma.

To better understand the importance and the impact that respiratory diseases have on human health, we need only consider that in 2015 the WHO estimated 1.5 million deaths were due to tuberculosis, making the pathology one of the top 10 causes of death in the world.

No less important is asthma, which is widespread and growing rapidly. According to the Global Initiative for Asthma (Gina) the condition affects about 300 million people worldwide, or one in every twenty.

Diseases related to the respiratory system still represent a challenge for medicine – and many initiatives are aimed at developing new therapies and improving existing ones.

Since its inception, PIAM has remained committed to the making therapies for respiratory diseases widely available: the company was founded in 1915 to market the first effective anti-tuberculosis vaccine, discovered in 1899 by its founder, Professor Edoardo Maragliano.

From that point onwards, the company’s commitment to pneumology has been unrelenting, driven by the aim of providing effective solutions to maintain the health of the population. This is the reason why a line of antibiotic products of particular relevance to the respiratory field has been developed and marketed.

In recent years, PIAM has also focused on patients suffering from other respiratory diseases such as asthma and rhinitis, with particular attention on facilitating therapeutic adherence to these treatments.